In a conventional labeling operation, articles to be labeled are conveyed single file through a labeling station. A label applicator at the labeling station applies a label to each article as such article passes through the labeling station.
There are instances in which it is desirable to label articles which are arranged in side-by-side relationship on a conveyor. For example, some packaging equipment provides an output which includes side-by-side packages.
One way to label side-by-side articles is to employ a vary wide backing strip carrying substantially spaced apart rows of labels extending longitudinally of the backing strip and a very wide peeling bar to remove the side-by-side labels from the backing strip. However, the wide backing strip wastes a large amount of paper, especially when the labels are relatively small and the articles to be labeled are relatively large and/or widely spaced.
One solution to this problem is described in common assignee's U.S. Pat. No. 4,046,613. This patent discloses a label applicator which is adapted for use with labels arranged in a conventional manner in a single row on a backing strip. A multiple number of these labels are sequentially removed from the backing strip with such labels moving in a first direction, and then the removed labels are spread in that same direction. The labels are spread appropriately so that one can be applied to each of the side-by-side articles, or in the case of a large single article, the labels are spaced appropriately for application to such article.